The history of existentialism and phenomenology in Continental philosophy was in direct response to Hegel's philosophy of idealism. Roots of this history can be traced all the way back to Pre-Socratic philosophies. Hegelian idealism faced tremendous disagreement from the key contributors of existentialism and phenomenology, and this difference of opinion was made quite clear in the written work of the philosophers that followed. This movement away from Hegelian idealism in English-speaking countries became what is now known as Continental philosophy.
The core belief of existentialism is that traditional philosophy does not address the matters of real life. Philosophy has to center itself on each individual's experience with the world. Existentialism believed that the world is not rational and is completely beyond understanding why it is the way it is. They believe that Humanity is plagued with irrationality, emptiness, and poor communication leading to despair; and that each individual must decide how to live in a world as such. Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche were philosophers of the nineteenth century who opposed Hegel's idealism. They believed that optimistic philosophy did not address the true understanding of humanity and that without dealing with the true nature of humanity the individual will never be able to find purpose in life.
Kierkegaard was cynical of Hegel's ideas that individuals merge into a intangible hollowness, and Kierkegaard stressed the individual's control over actions and choices. Kierkegaard believed the individual inevitably felt despair when facing any real ethical or religious decisions of any lasting import, and only an individual's commitment to the endlessness and to God ca ...